Hello again. Welcome back to Emlex's weekly podcast. My name is James Panicki. I'm senior editor here at Emlex's Asia Bureau, and it's great to have your company.

Now, if you thought that the life of an academic was all about a linear, slightly uneventful

career path, then you haven't been following the vicissitudes of Fiona Scott Morton.

The American academic had accepted a key role as chief economist with the European Commission's

antitrust department,

a role she was eminently qualified for, then the political backlash with the European Union began.

There was the issue of her being an American.

There were also concerns about her earlier work as a consultant for Big Tech.

It all added up to a headache for EU Competition Commissioner

Magretta Vestaya. And now we're recording this podcast on the Wednesday morning, Brussels time

and news of Professor Scott Morton's decision to withdraw from the role she had already accepted

has just come through. So I've scrambled to pin down two MLEX journalists in Brussels

to walk us through what all of this means. Natalie McNeilis is a senior correspondent covering M&A.

Lewis Crofts is Emlex's editor at large. Both of them are familiar with the controversy,

and both of them are with me right now. So, Lewis, for those foreign listeners just hearing about this for the first time,

take us back to where it all began and maybe walk us through how things panned out.

Well, James, this goes back to a job which not many people even know exists.

It's chief economist at DG Competition, that's the European

Commission's antitrust arm. And one of the senior jobs there is a number cruncher, chief

economist. And it's their job to give advice on cases. So, for example, the Commission

will be looking at a merger between X and Y, and Economist will be asked to present a paper findings on whether or not prices will go up or down.

That's obviously an economic thing rather than a legal thing.

...